The use of computer systems and computer-related technologies continues to increase at a rapid pace. This increased use of computer systems has influenced the advances made to computer-related technologies. Indeed, computer systems have increasingly become an integral part of the business world and the activities of individual consumers. Computer systems may be used to carry out several business, industry, and academic endeavors. The wide-spread use of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet.
Many businesses use one or more computer networks to communicate and share data between the various computers connected to the networks. The productivity and efficiency of employees often require human and computer interaction. Users of computer technologies continue to demand an increase in the efficiency of these technologies. Improving the efficiency of computer technologies is desirable to anyone who uses and relies on computers.
When a computer is powered on, it undergoes a process known as booting up. This process prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. For example, this may involve loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the computer performs when power is switched on. A boot loader program may be accessed to load the main operating system or runtime environment for the computer. Before booting up the operating system, however, a pre-boot environment (PBE) may take control of and manage the computer. The PBE may enable access to the computing platform early in the boot sequence of the computer.